LYNN HAVEN — The local chapter of an international group of tipsters is celebrating 30 years helping law enforcement solve crimes from bank robbery to murder — just in time for September’s CrimeStoppers month.
CrimeStoppers, which allows people to report crime and collect an award anonymously, has led to more than 12,000 arrests locally in those 30 years, according to local CrimeStoppers President Norm Gulkis.
Gulkis and dozens of officers and citizens relived the highlights during a celebratory luncheon hosted by Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen.
In 1989, a tip helped the local group contribute to the arrest of a murder suspect for the first time. The next year, one tip helped law enforcement solve 60 cases and another solved a murder. The following year, a bank robber was arrested thanks to a tip.
And so it has gone for 30 years.
Debra Peel, who appears with McKeithen on CrimeStoppers billboards in Bay County, was honored for her career as a deputy, then as the public face of CrimeStoppers. Peel, who began her career in 1982 with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, has become known as “that CrimeStoppers Lady.”
Peel was presented with a gift during Tuesday’s luncheon: the .357 Colt Python she carried at the dawn of her crime-fighting career. When she got it, the serial number had been grinded off, which means it would be illegal these days — but for the fact that McKeithen arranged for a new serial number for the weapon.
CrimeStoppers USA has contributed information from tipsters that has led to more than 567,000 arrests and paid out more than $84 million in rewards, according to its website. Only about 40 percent of tipsters are looking for a reward, Gulkis said.
“The rest just want a safer community,” Gulkis told the lighthearted crowd at the Sheriff’s Office.
McKeithen and Peel traded friendly barbs. McKeithen performed a puppet show starring himself and Peel before Sgt. Chris Eaves dressed as Dog the Bounty Hunter came out to show McKeithen “how to do it.”
The light mood at the monthly meetings helps balance the heavy things crime fighters face at other times, Peel said.
“It’s hard to face some of the things we face,” she said.
